The Sick Villain Just Want to Live

Shao Ming took Zhu Tong directly to a sink outside the teacher’s office downstairs. Today was the big clean-up day, so other bathrooms in this building were mostly closed for cleaning. 

After finally cleaning the dust from his eyes, Zhu Tong could finally open it. His eyes were  already a little red from the torment.

–It looked like he was crying. 

Shao Ming helped him wipe away the water around his eyes, and asked, “Does it no longer hurt?” 

Zhu Tong nodded, then shook his head, “Mn, much better now.” 

Shao Ming reprimanded him gently, “I told you not to rub it. Now it’s red like an albino rabbit’s eyes.” 

Zhu Tong: “…”

He didn’t want to rub it either, but couldn’t help it. He raised his head and reasoned, “But it’s so itchy if I don’t rub it.” 

Shao Ming: “…”

He sounds so aggrieved. This made Shao Ming chuckle helplessly. “Who told you to be so serious…”

After wiping the desk, he actually went inside the under desk area. 

But before he could say it outloud, he felt pity looking at Zhu Tong’s watery red eyes. Instead, he said, “Now that it’s no longer hurt, let’s go back to the classroom, shall we?” 

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Zhu Tong nodded.

The two turned around and walked back. When they went upstairs from the stairwell, they happened to meet someone going downstairs with a bucket. The bucket swayed, and Zhu Tong was worried that he would bump into it, so he subconsciously leaned a little closer to where Shao Ming was walking.

But – whether it was intentional or unintentional – as they passed by, the bucket suddenly shook violently again. Zhu Tong only felt the back of his hand get hit by something, and the water in the bucket had swung out and splashed on his hand.

He frowned slightly.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” The young man suddenly apologized repeatedly.

Zhu Tong thought it was an accident, and was about to say it’s okay. But, the young man suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed his wrist, then said, “Let me wipe it for you…”

He moved so fast that Shao Ming and Zhu Tong couldn’t digest it in time. 

Shao Ming looked at Zhu Tong’s hand being grabbed by others, his eyes darkened suddenly; and just as he was about to make a move, Zhu Tong reacted faster than him.

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Zhu Tong shook his hand violently as if he had been scalded. The boy who was grabbing his wrist was caught off guard and was thrown back two steps by him. He grabbed the guardrail next to him in a panic so as not to fall.

He couldn’t believe it, “You…”

Wasn’t this an overreaction? 

Shao Ming didn’t expect that Zhu Tong’s reaction would be so strong, and he even backed up and bumped into his arms because of the inertia. He looked at Zhu Tong’s hand that was subconsciously raised because he was shaking off the young man’s. He supported him and said, “You…” 

“I’ll wash it again.”

Zhu Tong frowned and looked at his wrist that was grabbed, and turned around suddenly, turning towards the sink you just went to.

The person who was thrown away by him and recovered from the panic suddenly said, “Didn’t your hand just get splashed a bit? The water wasn’t even dirty, as fo–” 

“If you want to eat the rag in your hand, I can help you.” Shao Ming looked at him coldly.

The man’s spine was chilled by what he said, and he couldn’t make a sound despite his gaping mouth. 

Shao Ming followed Zhu Tong downstairs.

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After turning the corner, the young man seemed to feel that there was no threat. He curled his lips in dissatisfaction and said something under his breath, “Tch, so pretentious.” 

After saying that, the young man ran upstairs.

“…?”

Zhu Tong stopped walking downstairs, his body froze for a moment, and then walked forward as if nothing had happened.

Pretentious?

He is quite pretentious, but so what? 

Even if other people’s hands were dirty, he wouldn’t react that much. But, what if he fell because he lost his balance, especially when his wrist was grabbed so suddenly like that? 

He’s so used to being called “pretentious” in school, mainly from other students secretly talking behind his back. At his previous school, that word already lost its meaning. But after getting transferred, he never got called that, so the word does sting a little. 

Zhu Tong turned on the faucet by the sink and put his wrist under the running water to rinse. The wrist that was grabbed by the young man felt really uncomfortable. The water wasn’t enough to wash the dirty feeling, so he rubbed it using his other hand. 

Suddenly a person stood beside him, and Zhu Tong looked up.

It’s Shao Ming.

The taller youth looked down at his hands and said nothing.

Zhu Tong felt flustered when he saw him. He wondered, ‘Would Shao Ming also think I am pretentious?’ 

He paused for a while, then whispered, “That hand he grabbed me was used to hold his rag.”

The rag looked dirty, he didn’t know if it had been washed.

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Shao Ming replied softly, “Yes, I saw it.”

–He didn’t just grab the rag. 

It’s just a splash of water, what’s the use of wiping it off? 

He dared to approach Zhu Tong so directly. It was clearly on purpose. 

Shao Ming’s eyes were a little cold, but he lowered his head so that Zhu Tong could not see.

After washing his hands again, Zhu Tong looked at him and said, “Okay, let’s go.”

 Shao Ming didn’t move. He sounded a little puzzled as he asked, “Are you… afraid that others will touch you?”

Zhu Tong: “…”

He froze suddenly, because Shao Ming was right – he was afraid of being touched by others.

Those unfamiliar touches felt alien and repulsive to him.

After transferring schools, because he was a newcomer and surrounded by strangers, no one would come into contact with him as if they were close. So, this trait of his was easily hidden. 

However, it was still exposed. His  knee-jerk reaction was still visible.

Zhu Tong stopped suddenly, and Shao Ming clearly saw the shorter youth’s reaction. He smiled, and said, “Then I will pay more attention in the future, let’s go.”

–He would be more careful and block others from unnecessarily touching Zhu Tong. 

Shao Ming didn’t ask Zhu Tong about his overreaction just now, stunning Zhu Tong. 

Speaking of which, since he transferred to another school, it was Shao Ming who had the most contact with him, be it physical or verbal.

‘He said he’ll pay more attention in the future? Pay more attention to what? What does he mean?’

Zhu Tong asked the system, ‘Why did he ask me if I was afraid of being touched? Did he misunderstand something?’

Did what Shao Ming meant was… he planned to touch him less in the future? 

The system mercilessly replied, ‘You seem to be quite regretful?’

Zhu Tong: “…”

Zhu Tong denied, ‘I just think I should explain to him.’

The system: ‘How do you want to explain? Telling him that you like it when he touches you?’ 

Zhu Tong: “…”

Why do these words sound so ambiguous?

But still, the system was right – he did not have lick of an idea on how to explain this. Was he even willing to have frequent physical contact with Shao Ming?

–Somehow, the answer is “yes”. 

‘But why?’ Zhu Tong asked nobody in particular. 

Because every time Shao Ming touched him, it was out of kindness.

Because the system task tied his life to Shao Ming.

Because Shao Ming paid great attention to his image, Zhu Tong instinctively classified them as people of the same category.

Also because of Shao Ming’s repeated care, he seems to have gotten used to his touch.

After thinking about it, Zhu Tong felt that there’s nothing to explain. It’s just a trait of his, his preference since birth. He’s afraid of other’s touch. He did not want to communicate much with others. 

He was such a high-maintenance person, with many little problems.

Such a misfit.

But inexplicably, he didn’t want Shao Ming to misunderstand him.

‘How should I say it?’ Zhu Tong continued to mull. 

Sinking deep into his thoughts, he didn’t realize that the two of them had already walked back to the classroom. The noisy environment of Class 3 was not solely caused by the cleaning activity. They seemed to be… gossiping? 

As they both walked into the class, a pair of eyes looked at the two of them, followed by many others. 

Zhu Tong: “?”

“Ming-ge, your milk tea shop is on fire!” A boy near the window suddenly spoke while holding up his phone.

Zhu Tong subconsciously looked at Shao Ming.

He doesn’t have Shao Ming’s inherent calmness. He instantly became nervous at the mere mention of Shao Ming’s milk tea shop. 

‘When we went to wash my eyes, what happened again?’

Immediately, someone came forward and explained their excitement, “Just now, Zhuo Yunan went to your milk tea shop. She even took a photo and posted it on her Weibo, and the online comments went viral!” 

“Why did Zhuo Yunan go to your milk tea shop? Do you know each other?”

“Fuck! That’s my Goddess! Ming-ge, can you get me her autograph?”

Curious people swarmed up, but Shao Ming understood the gist. He smiled lightly, replying to all of them, “I don’t know Zhuo Yunan.”

 “…”

The people around were silent for a second. Thinking of Yuan Shaozhou’s ending, their eyes turned to Zhu Tong again.

Zhu Tong looked blank. “Who is Zhuo Yunan?”

Everyone: “…”